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THE  EXPOSITORY  PARAGRAPH 
AND  SENTENCE 

AN  ELEMENTARY  MANUAL  OF  COMPOSITION 


THE  EXPOSITORY 
PARAGRAPH  AND  SENTENCE 


AN  ELEMENTARY  MANUAL 
OF  COMPOSITION 


BY 
CHARLES  SEARS  BALDWIN,  A.M.,  Ph.D. 

INSTRUCTOR  IN  RHETORIC  IN  YALE  UNIVERSITY 


NEW  YORK 
LONGMANS,  GREEN,  AND  CO. 

LONDON  AND  BOMBAY 
1898 


v 


u'^'^"^ 


Copyright,  1897,  by 
LONGMANS,  GREEN,  AND  CO. 


All  rights  reserved 


First  Edition,  September,  1897 
Reprinted,  September,  1898 

Press  of  J.  J.  Little  &  Co. 
Astor  Place,  New  York 


8/<f/ 


PREFACE 

This  little  manual  aims  to  supply  for  the 
first  term  in  college  such  elementary  instruc- 
tion as  seems  necessary  in  reviewing  and  sup- 
plementing the  work  of  the  preparatory 
schools  before  proceeding  to  more  special 
courses.  To  this  end  it  deals  exclusively  with 
structure,  and  with  expository  structure  as 
being  at  once  more  obvious,  more  useful,  and 
less  artistic  than  the  other  kinds.  The  book 
may  thus  be  used  as  a  direct  introduction  to 
Mr.  Lamont's  Specimens  of  Exposition^  for  in- 
stance, or  to  Mr.  Brewster's  Studies  in  Structure 
and  Style.  But  it  aspires  to  more  general  use- 
fulness as  a  students'  pocket-book  of  rhetoric. 

For  advice  on  the  manuscript  and  for  correc- 
tions in  proof  I  am  indebted  to  my  colleague, 
Mr.  Chauncey  Wetmore  Wells  ;  for  the  latter 
favour,  to  Professor  Thomas  R.  Price  and 
Professor  G.  R.  Carpenter  of  Columbia  Uni- 
versity. 

C.  S.  B. 

Yale  University, /^/j/,  1897. 


CONTENTS 


Introduction 


I.  The  Composition  as  a  Whole  (§§  i-g) 

A.  The  Composition  Considered  as  a   Brief 
Undivided  Whole  (§§  1-7) 

B.  The  Composition  Considered  as  a  Series 
of  Paragraphs  (§§  8-9) 

II.  The  Paragraph  (§§  10-22)    . 

A.  The  Paragraph  Considered  as  an  Undi. 
vided  Whole  (§§  10-18)     .         .         . 

B.  The  Paragraph  Considered  as  a  Series  of 
Sentences  (g§  19-22) 

III.  The  Sentence  (§§  23-42) 
Index  to  the  Sections 
Index  to  the  Extracts 


PAGES. 
I-  2 

3-10 

3-  8 

8-10 
11-27 

11-21 

22-27 
28-48 
49-51 

52-53 


INTRODUCTION 

Beneath  all  forms  of  prose  lie  four  kinds 
of  writing,  which,  though  variously  combined, 
are  yet  distinct  and  separate.  These  are  de- 
scription^ the  methods  of  suggesting  mental 
images  corresponding  in  some  degree  to  scenes 
beheld  or  imagined  by  the  writer  ;  narration^ 
the  methods  of  conducting  a  story  ;  persuasion^ 
the  methods  of  moving  men  to  action,  whether 
through  their  reason  or  through  their  feelings  ; 
and  exposition^  the  methods  of  lucid  explana- 
tion. The  principles  set  forth  in  this  book, 
though  they  are  generally  applicable  to  all  four 
kinds,  are  here  applied  exclusively  to  expo- 
sition. All  brief  pieces  of  exposition  are  in- 
cluded in  the  extended  sense  given  here  to  the 
term  essay. 

The  direct  use  of  these  rules  of  construction 
is  confined  to  revision.  Indirectly,  sound 
principles,  and  even  sound  rules  of  detail,  may 


2  Introduction 

lead  to  good  habits  ;  but  directly  they  are  of 
no  use  till  something,  at  least,  is  written.  To 
write  by  rule,  in  the  sense  of  pausing  to  apply 
rules  in  the  process  of  composition,  is,  of 
course,  futile.  In  that  sense  probably  nobody 
ever  wrote  by  rule.  To  rewrite  by  rule  is 
simply  to  follow  the  method  of  progress  in 
any  art. 


Uftity 


I.     The  Composition  as  a  Whole. 

A.    The    Composition    Considered    as  a    Brief 
Undivided  Whole. 

1.  Composition  in  any  art  is  guided  by 
three  fundamental  principles :  unity,  cohe- 
rence, emphasis.  The  principle  of  unity  de- 
mands that  the  whole  composition  shall  show 
one  main  purpose  and  have  one  main  effect, 
and  that  every  part  of  it  shall  harmonize  with 
that  purpose  and  contribute  to  that  effect. 
Negatively,  unity  means  the  exclusion  of 
everything  irrelevant  or  incongruous.  In 
writing  it  expresses  the  difference  between  an 
accumulation  of  notes  and  an  essay. 

2.  Unity  appears  plainly  in  the  following 
essay  of  Bacon  : 

OF    ADVERSITY. 

It  was  a  high  speech  of  Seneca  (after  the 
manner  of  the  Stoics),  that  the  good  things 
which  belong  to  prosperity  are  to  be  wished  j 


4  Unity  of  Bacon's 

but  the  good  things  that  belong  to  adversity 
5  are  to  be  admired.  Bona  rerum  secundarum 
optabilia,  adversarum  mirabilia.  Certainly 
if  miracles  be  the  command  over  nature,  they 
appear  most  in  adversity.  It  is  yet  a  higher 
speech  of  his  than  the  other  (much  too  high  for 

lo  a  heathen),  //  is  true  greatness  to  have  i7i  one 
the  frailty  of  a  man,  ajtd  the  security  of  a 
god.  Vere  magnum,  habere  fragilitatem 
ho?ninis,  securitatem  dei.  This  would  have 
done  better  in  poesy,  where  transcendences  * 

15  are  more  allowed.  And  the  poets,  indeed, 
have  been  busy  with  it ;  for  it  is  in  effect  the 
thing  which  is  figured  in  that  strange  fiction 
of  the  ancient  poets,  which  seemeth  not  to  be 
without  mystery  ;  nay,  and  to  have  some  ap- 

20  proach  to  the  state  of  a  Christian  ;  that  Her- 
cules, when  he  went  to  unbind  Prometheus 
(by  whom  human  nature  is  represented),  sailed 
the  length  of  the  great  ocean  in  an  earthen 
pot    or  pitcher ;  lively   describing    Christian 

25  resolution,  that  saileth  in  the  frail  bark  of  the 
flesh  through  the  waves  of  the  world.  But  to 
speak  in  a  mean.'  The  virtue  of  prosperity  is 
temperance,  the  virtue  of  adversity  is  fortitude  ; 
which  in  morals  ^  is  the  more  heroical  virtue. 

30  Prosperity  is  the  blessing  of  the  Old  Testa- 
'  hyperboles.       *  i,e.^  in  plain  prose.        ^  ethics. 


Essay  on  Adversity  5 

ment;  adversity  is  the  blessing  of  the  New, 
which  carrieth  the  greater  benediction,  and 
the  clearer  revelation  of  God's  favour.  Yet  even 
in  the  Old  Testament,  if  you  listen  to  David's 
harp,  you  shall  hear  as  many  hearse-like  airs  35 
as  carols  ;  and  the  pencil  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
hath  laboured  more  in  describing  the  afflictions 
of  Job  than  the  felicities  of  Solomon.  Prosper- 
ity is  not  without  many  fears  and  distastes  ;  and 
adversity  is  not  without  comforts  and  hopes.  40 
We  see  in  needleworks  and  embroideries,  it  is 
more  pleasing  to  have  a  lively  work  upon  a  sad 
and  solemn  ground,  than  to  have  a  dark  and 
melancholy  work  upon  a  lightsome  ground. 
Judge  therefore  of  the  pleasure  of  the  heart  by  45 
the  pleasure  of  the  eye.  Certainly  virtue  is 
like  precious  odours,  most  fragrant  when  they 
are  incensed  *  or  crushed  :  for  prosperity  doth 
best  discover  vice,  but  adversity  doth  best 
discover  virtue.  50 

3.  Here  is  nothing  that  does  not  contribute 
to  the  elucidation  of  the  theme — The  blessings 
of  adversity  are  superior  to  the  blessings  of 
prosperity.  To  test  the  unity  of  any  brief 
essay,   try   to   sum    it   up   thus   in   a   single 

^  burned. 


6  Coherence 

sentence.  And,  in  shaping  rough  notes  into 
an  essay,  let  the  first  step  be  to  express  the 
theme,  not  in  a  topic,  as  The  Uses  of  Trans- 
iationSy  but  rather  in  a  sentence,  as  The  use  of 
translations  is  a  hindrance  in  the  acquisition  of 
a  language^  or  So77ie  knowledge  of  a  literature 
may  be  gained  through  translations.  Then,  by 
successive  modifications  of  this  trial  sentence 
and  of  the  notes,  bring  the  two  into  harmony. 
4.  The  principle  of  coherence  demands  that 
the  composition  shall  proceed  in  natural 
sequence  without  break  or  jar,  that  one  thing 
shall  lead  to  another.  This  means,  of  course, 
that  the  thoughts  must  be  brought  into  order. 
It  usually  means  also  that  the  logical  relation 
between  each  thought  and  the  preceding  shall 
be,  not  merely  latent,  but  explicit.  In  the 
essay  quoted  above,  the  second  thought  is 
explicitly  connected  with  the  first  by  the  cor- 
respondence of  phrase  :  It  was  a  high  speech 
— //  is  yet  a  higher  speech.  The  transitional 
phrase.  But  to  speak  in  a  mean  (26),  leads 
naturally  to  the  following  summary.  But  the 
thought.  Prosperity  is  not  without  many  fears 
(38),  etc.,  is  brought  in  abruptly.     It  is  not 


Emphasis  of  Position  7 

out  of  relation,  but  its  relation  is  not  shown. 
Most  students  will  find  it  necessary  to  make 
a  separate  revision  solely  to  insure  the  explicit 
reference  that  is  so  important  a  part  of 
coherence. 

5.  The  principle  of  emphasis  demands  that 
those  parts  which  elucidate  the  theme  directly 
shall  have  prominence  of  position  and  of 
space.  Negatively,  this  means  that  whatever 
is  merely  indirect  or  subsidiary  must  be  kept 
subordinate.  Now  the  most  prominent  posi- 
tion in  any  piece  of  writing  is  the  end.  Thus 
of  all  laws  of  composition  the  most  familiar 
is  climax.  In  the  essay  above,  Bacon  closes 
with  a  pithy  iteration  of  the  theme  in  a  sort 
of  proverb.  The  reference  to  the  Psalms 
(line  34)  or  the  figure  of  embroidery  (line  41) 
would  make  an  ending  obviously  inferior 
because  those  parts  are  subsidiary.  The  law  of 
emphasis,  then,  coincides  with  the  law  of  unity 
in  keeping  uppermost  in  mind  the  conclusion. 

6.  Next  to  the  end  the  most  emphatic 
place  is  the  beginning.  Introduction  being 
often  unnecessary  in  brief  essays,  a  direct 
statement  of  the  theme,  such  as  that  which 


8  Emphasis  of  Space 

results  from  the  revision  for  unity,  may  often 
be  made  in  the  very  first  sentence.  In  any 
case,  wherever  the  essay  begins,  with  or 
without  introduction,  the  theme  should  usually 
be  stated  there.  Thus  many  good  essays 
begin  and  end  with  the  theme. 

7.  Prominence  of  position,  however,  is  not 
more  important  than  prominence  of  space. 
In  a  short  essay  especially,  nothing  of  indirect 
bearing  should  receive  more  than  a  few  lines. 
In  the  essay  above,  the  illustrations  from  the 
myth  of  Hercules  and  from  embroidery  are 
the  only  ones  stated,  and  these  doubtless 
because  neither  would  have  been  plain  from 
mere  allusion.  Mere  allusion  suffices  for  the 
rest,  and  here  appears  a  due  proportion  of 
space.  Proportion,  in  fact,  sums  up  in  a  word 
this  aspect  of  the  law  of  emphasis. 


B.    The  Composition  Considered  as  a  Series  of 
Paragraphs. 

8.  So  soon  as  an  essay  is  developed  beyond 
a  certain  length,  it  falls  naturally  into  para- 
graphs corresponding  more  or  less  to  some 


The  Essay  in  Paragraphs  9 

division  of  the  subject  into  parts.  A  para- 
graph ^  is  a  part  which,  during  the  process  of 
composition,  has  defined  itself  as  one  distinct 
stage  in  the  progress  of  the  essay.  It  is  a 
unit,  but  a  component  unit.  As  a  unit  it  is 
marked  for  the  eye  by  indentation,^  and  is 
governed  by  the  principles  of  unity,  coherence, 
and  emphasis.  As  a  component,  being  like  a 
link  in  a  chain  or  a  step  in  a  stair,  it  contains 
in  its  first  sentence  some  reference  to  the  pre- 
ceding paragraph. 

9.  By  expressing  the  gist  of  each  paragraph 
in  a  single  sentence,  one  may  reduce  an  essay 
to  its  lowest  terms  without  affecting  its  cohe- 
rence. By  conceiving,  on  the  other  hand,  each 
paragraph  amplified  into  a  chapter,  one  has  a 
graphic  idea  of  what  is  meant  by  the  devel- 

*  The  term  paragraph  is  commonly  applied  also  to 
what  are  sometimes  called  "  isolated  "  or  '*  unrelated  " 
paragraphs.  Thus  a  brief  editorial  is  often  called  a 
paragraph.  In  this  book  the  term  is  used  only  in  the 
sense  defined  above. 

^  Since  indentation  is  the  accepted  indication  of  a 
new  paragraph,  the  student  is  warned  never  to  indent 
except  for  that  purpose. 


lo  The  Essay  in  Paragraphs 

opment^  of  a  theme.  Bacon  might  easily 
have  presented  the  extremely  concise  essay 
on  Adversity  in  more  ample  form.  The  ends 
of  the  undeveloped  paragraphs  may  be  dis- 
cerned at  lines  8,  26,  38. 

*  No  reference  is  to  be  understood  here  to  the  actual 
process  of  composition. 


The  Paragraph  ii 


II.    The  Paragraph. 

A.    The  Paragraph  Considered  as  an  Undivided 
Whole. 

10.  The  paragraph  being  already  defined- 
in  its  main  relation,  there  remains  only  the 
application  to  it  of  those  fundamental  prin- 
ciples that  govern  the  whole  composition.  A 
paragraph  has  unity  when  it  can  be  summed 
up  readily  in  a  single  sentence.  In  many 
paragraphs  such  a  sentence  appears  at  the 
beginning,  or  at  the  end,  or  in  both  places; 
but  unity  requires  only  that  the  reader  should 
be  able  to  sum  up,  not  necessarily  that  the 
writer  should  sum  up  for  him.  Note  which 
paragraphs,  quoted  in  the  following  pages,  state 
their  themes,  and  which  merely  imply  them. 

11.  The  material  proper  to  the  development 
of  a  paragraph  within  the  limits  of  unity  is  set 
forth  by  Professor  Genung^  in  the  following 
table  for  a  typical  paragraph: 

^Practical  Elements  of  Rhetoric,  page  igg.  Pro- 
fessor Genung  adds  :    "Of  cotirfje  this  scheme   is  too 


12  The  Paragraph  :    Unity 

The  subject  proposed  : 

I.  Whatever  is  needed  to  explain  the  subject. 

Repetition. 

Obverse  (/.^.,  presenting  the  contrary). 

Definition. 

II.  Whatever  is  needed  to  establish  the  subject. 

Exemplification  or  detail. 

illustration. 

Proof. 

,     III.  Whatever  is  needed  to  apply  the  subject. 
Result  or  consequence. 
Enforcennent. 
Summary  or  recapitulation. 

In  the  paragraph  next  quoted  point  out 
these  elements. 

12.  Coherence  in  a  paragraph  demands  (i) 
a  logical  sequence  of  sentences,  (2)  usually 
the  indication  of  this  sequence  by  words  of 
explicit  reference.  In  the  following  para- 
extensive  for  any  particular  paragraph ;  it  merely  repre- 
sents the  natural  place  for  each  manner  of  treatment 
adopted.  Some  parts  may  be  condensed  or  altogether 
elided,  others  expanded  so  as  to  take  up  a  prominent, 
even  predominating  proportion  of  the  paragraph." 


Coherence  :   Explicit  Reference  13 

graph   the   words   of    explicit  reference   are 
printed  in  italics. 

First,  the  people  of  the  colonies  are  descend- 
ants of  Englishmen.  England,  Sir,  is  a  nation 
which  still  I  hope  respects,  and  formerly  adored, 
her  freedom.  The  colonists  emigrated  from 
you  when  this  part  of  your  character  was  most  5 
predominant;  and  they  took  this  bias  and  direc- 
tion the  moment  they  parted  from  your  hands. 
They  are  therefore  not  only  devoted  to  liberty, 
but  to  liberty  according  to  English  ideas,  and 
on  English  principles.  Abstract  liberty,  like  10 
other  mere  abstractions,  is  not  to  be  found. 
Liberty  inheres  in  some  sensible  object;  and 
every  nation  has  formed  to  itself  some  favorite 
point,  which  by  way  of  eminence  becomes  the 
criterion  of  their  happiness.  It  happened,  you  15 
know,  Sir,  that  the  great  contests  for  freedom 
in  this  country  were  from  the  earliest  times 
chiefly  upon  the  question  of  taxing.  Most  of  the 
contests  in  the  ancient  commonwealths  turned 
primarily  on  the  right  of  election  of  magis-  20 
trates,  or  on  the  balance  among  the  several 
orders  of  the  State.  The  question  of  money 
was  not  with  them  so  immediate.  But  in  Eng- 
land it  was  otherwise.  On  this  point  of  taxes 
the  ablest  pens  and  most  eloquent  tongues  have  25 


14  Explicit  Reference  in  a 

been  exercised ;  the  greatest  spirits  have  acted 
and  suffered.  In  order  to  give  the  fullest  satis- 
faction concerning  the  importance  oithis  point, 
it  was  not  only  necessary  for   those  who   in 

30  argument  defended  the  excellence  of  the  Eng- 
lish Constitution  to  insist  on  this  privilege  of 
granting  money  as  a  dry  point  of  fact,  and  to 
prove  that  the  right  had  been  acknowledged  in 
ancient  parchments  and  blind  usages  to  reside 

35  in  a  certain  body  called  a  House  of  Commons. 
They  went  much  further;  they  attempted  to 
prove,  and  they  succeeded,  that  in  theory  it 
ought  to  be  so,  from  the  particular  nature  of  a 
House  of  Commons  as  an  immediate  represent- 

40  ative  of  the  people,  whether  the  old  records 
had  delivered  this  oracle  or  not  They  took 
infinite  pains  to  inculcate,  as  a  fundamental 
principle,  that  in  all  monarchies  the  people 
must  in  effect  themselves,  mediately  or  imme- 

45  diately,  possess  the  power  of  granting  their 
own  money,  or  no  shadow  of  liberty  could  sub- 
sist. The  colonies  draw  from  you,  as  with 
their  life-blood,  these  ideas  and  principles. 
Their  love  of  liberty,  as  with  you,  fixed  and 

50  attached  on  this  specific  point  of  taxing.  Lib- 
erty might  be  safe,  or  might  be  endangered, 
in  twenty  other  particulars,  without  their  being 
much  pleased  or  alarmed.     Here  they  felt  its 


Paragraph  from  Burke  15 

pulse;    and   as   they    found    that    beat,    they 
thought  themselves  sick  or  sound.     I  do  not  55 
say   whether   they   were    right    or   wrong    in 
applying   your    general    arguments    to    their 
own  case.     It  is  not    easy  indeed  to  make  a 
monopoly  of  theorems  and  corollaries.     The 
fact  is,  that  they  did  thus  apply  those  general  60 
arguments;  and  your  mode  of  governing  them, 
whether  through  lenity  or  indolence,  through 
wisdom    or   mistake,  confirmed  them   in   the 
imagination,  that  they,  as  well   as  you,    had 
an    interest    in    these    common   principles. —  65 
Burke:  On  Conciliation  with  America. 


13.  On  analysis,  the  logical  connection  ap- 
pears to  be  indicated  mainly  in  three  ways  : 
(a)  by  conjunctions,  etc.;  (J?)  by  demonstra- 
tives ;  (c)  by  repetition  of  important  words. 
With  so  great  a  range  of  choice  the  student 
is  inexcusable  who  confines  himself  to  perpet- 
ual and  and  but.  For  though  Burke's  nicety 
of  adjustment  is  a  distinguishing  mark  of  his 
mastery,  some  care  in  adjustment  must  be 
taken  from  the  beginning,  or  there  will  be 
small  progress  in  composition.  Examine  also 
the  following  paragraph,  and  compare  §  22. 


1 6  Explicit  Reference  in  a 

The  situation  here  contemplated  exposes  a 
dreadful  ulcer,  lurking  far  down  in  the  depths 
of  human  nature.  It  is  not  that  men  generally 
are  summoned  to  face  such  awful  trials  ;  but 
5  potentially,  and  in  shadowy  outline,  such  a 
trial  is  moving  subterraneously  in  perhaps  all 
men's  natures.  Upon  the  secret  mirror  of 
our  dreams  such  a  trial  is  darkly  projected, 
perhaps,  to  every  one  of  us.     That  dream,  so 

lo  familiar  to  childhood,  of  meeting  a  lion,  and, 
through  languishing  prostration  in  hope  and 
the  energies  of  hope,  that  constant  sequel  of 
lying  down  before  the  lion,  publishes  the  secret 
frailty    of    human    nature — reveals    its-deep- 

15  seated  falsehood  to  itself — records  its  abysmal 
treachery.  Perhaps  not  one  of  us  escapes  that 
dream  ;  perhaps,  as  by  some  sorrowful  doom 
of  man,  that  dream  repeats  for  every  one  of 
us,    through    every    generation,    the    original 

20  temptation  in  Eden.  Every  one  of  us,  in  this 
dream,  has  a  bait  offered  to  the  infirm  places 
of  his  own  individual  will ;  once  again  a  snare 
is  presented  for  tempting  him  into  captivity  to 
a  luxury  of  ruin  ;  once  again,  as  in  aboriginal 

25  Paradise,  the  man  falls  by  his  own  choice  ; 
again,  by  infinite  iteration,  the  ancient  earth 
groans  to  heaven,  through  her  secret  caves, 
over  the  weakness  of  her  child  :  "  Nature,  from 


Paragraph  from  De  Qidncey  1 7 

her  seat,  sighing  through  all  her  works,"  again 
"  gives  signs  of  woe  that  all  is  lost ;  "  and  again  30 
the  counter  sigh  is  repeated  to  the  sorrowing 
heavens  for  the  endless  rebellion  against  God. 
It  is  not  without  probability  that  in  the  world 
of  dreams  every  one  of  us  ratifies  for  himself 
the   original   transgression.     In    dreams,  per-  35 
haps  under  some  secret  conflict  of  the  midnight 
sleeper,  lighted  up  to  the  consciousness  at  the 
time,  but  darkened  to  the  memory  as  soon  as 
all  is  finished,  each  several  child  of  our  myste- 
rious race  completes  for  himself  the  treason  of  40 
the  aboriginal  fall. — De  QuUicey  :  The  English 
Mail-Coach. 


14.  But  observe  that  by  no  means  all  the 
sentences  in  the  paragraph  at  §  12  have 
explicit  reference,  that  some  stand  in  asynde- 
ton. Moreover,  many  of  these  sentences  are 
not  less  closely  connected  than  the  others. 
Connection  they  have,  but  not  connectives. 
Examination  will  show  here  the  rule  that 
asyndeton  occurs  :  (a)  when  the  succeeding 
sentence  is  an  expansion,  iteration,  example, 
or  illustration  of  the  preceding — in  other 
words,  when   the  connection  is  obvious  ;  {h) 


1 8  Asyndeton 

when,  as  at  line  15,  a  slight  break  is  intended 
to  mark  a  wider  transition.     (Compare  §  4.) 

15.  In  the  following  paragraph,  which  has 
asyndeton  throughout,  observe  the  effect  of 
abruptness. 

But  now,  on  the  new  system  of  travelling, 
iron  tubes  and  boilers  have  disconnected  man's 
heart  from  the  ministers  of  his  locomotion. 
Nile  nor  Trafalgar  has  power  to  raise  an  extra 
5  bubble  in  a  steam-kettle.  The  galvanic  cycle 
is  broken  up  for  ever ;  man's  imperial  nature 
no  longer  sends  itself  forward  through  the 
electric  sensibility  of  the  horse  ;  the  inter-agen- 
cies are  gone  in  the  mode  of  communication 

10  between  the  horse  and  his  master,  out  of  which 
grew  so  many  aspects  of  sublimity  under  acci- 
dents of  mists  that  hid,  or  sudden  blazes  that 
revealed,  of  mobs  that  agitated,  or  midnight 
solitudes  that  awed.     Tidings,   fitted    to  con- 

15  vulse  all  nations,  must  henceforwards  travel  by 
culinary  process  ;  and  the  trumpet  that  once 
announced  from  afar  the  laurelled  mail,  heart- 
shaking  when  heard  screaming  on  the  wind, 
and  proclaiming  itself  through  the  darkness  to 

20  every  village  or  solitary  house  on  its  route,  has 
now  given  way  for  ever  to  the  pot-wallopings 


The  Paragraph  :   Emphasis  1 9 

of   the    boiler. — De    Qiiincey :    The    English 
Mail- Coach. 

Compare  also  the  second  example  in  §  19. 

In  revising  for  coherence,  then,  look  first  to 
the  sequence  of  sentences,  then  to  the  indica- 
tions of  that  sequence  ;  and,  except  in  the 
cases  noted  above,  or  in  the  rare  cases  where 
abruptness  is  desired,  avoid  asyndeton. 

16,  The  principles  of  emphasis  as  stated 
i^^  §§  5-7  ^PPly  without  modification  to  the 
paragraph.  Of  the  emphasis  secured  by 
prominence  of  position  Bacon  furnishes  a 
more  striking  instance  in  the  opening  para- 
graph of  his  essay  on  Ceremonies  and  Respects  : 

He  that  is  only  real  had  need  have  exceeding 
great  parts  of  virtue,  as  the  stone  had  need  to  be 
rich  that  is  set  without  foil.  But  if  a  man  mark 
it  well,  it  is  in  praise  and  commendation  of  men 
as  it  is  ingettings  and  gains.  For  the  proverb  is 
true  that  light  gains  make  heavy  purses  ;  for  light 
gains  come  thick,  whereas  great  come  but  now 
and  then.  So  it  is  true  that  small  matters  win 
great  commendation,  because  they  are  continu- 
ally in  use  and  note,  whereas  the  occasion  of  any 
great  virtue  cometh  but  on  festivals.     Therefore 


20  The  Paragraph  :    Emphasis 

it  doth  much  add  to  a  man's  reputation,  and  is, 
as  Queen  Isabella  said,  like  perpetual  letters 
commendatory,  to  have  good  forms. 

17.  Of  the  emphasis  gained  by  proper  pro- 
portion of  space  an  admirable  example  is  the 
paragraph  quoted  in  §  12.  The  proposition 
developed  by  this  paragraph  may  be  stated  as 
follows :  Since  the  American  colonists  are  de- 
scendants of  Englishmen^  their  love  of  liberty  is 
fixed  on  this  specific  point  of  taxing.  The  part 
concerning  English  descent,  being  subsidi- 
ary, is  compressed  within  ten  lines :  the  part 
concerning  taxation,  being  the  main  point, 
occupies  practically  all  the  rest  of  the  para- 
graph, fifty-five  lines.  The  last  sentence, 
though  summing  up  only  this  latter  part,  is 
skilfully  made  to  close  with  a  reminder  ("  these 
common  principles  ")  of  the  former.^ 

^  Professor  Wendell's  formula  for  paragraph  emphasis 
is  useful,  but  too  rigid  :  "  A  paragraph  whose  unity  can 
be  demonstrated  by  summarizing  its  substance  in  a  sen- 
tence whose  subject  shall  be  a  summary  of  its  opening 
sentence,  and  whose  predicate  shall  be  a  summary  of  its 
closing  sentence,  is  theoretically  well  massed." — Ejtglish 
Composition,  page  129. 


Parallel  Construction  21 

18.  A  particular  means  of  paragraph  em- 
phasis is  parallel  construction,  the  balancing 
of  sentence  against  sentence.  It  is  most  nat- 
ural in  successive  expansions  or  iterations,  or 
in  an  oratorical  cumulation  like  the  following: 

Carry  the  principle  on  by  which  you  expelled  Mr. 
Wilkes,  there  is  not  a  man  in  the  House,  hardly 
a  man  in  the  nation,  who  may  not  be  disqualified. 
That  this  House  should  have  no  power  of  ex- 
pulsion is  a  hard  saying.  That  this  House  should 
have  a  general  discretionary  power  of  disqualifi- 
cation is  a  dangerous  saying.  That  the  people 
should  not  choose  their  own  representative  is  a 
saying  that  shakes  the  constitution.  That  this 
House  should  name  the  representative  is  a  saying 
which,  followed  by  practice,  subverts  the  constitu- 
tion.— Burke  ;  Speech  on  the  Middlesex  Election, 

This  last  means  of  emphasis  is  somewhat 
too  artificial  to  be  commonly  available.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  first  means,  a  strong  close, 
is  practically  always  useful  ;  and  the  second, 
due  proportion  of  space,  is  obligatory. 


2  2        The  Paragraph  in  its  Sentences  . 


B.     The  Paragraph  Considered  as  a  Series  of 
Sentences. 

19.  A  paragraph  is  commonly  defined  as  a 
group  of  sentences  with  unity  of  purpose  ; 
and  though  a  paragraph  is  not  primarily  a 
group  of  sentences,  yet  ultimately  it  must  be 
considered  in  this  aspect.  "  In  how  many 
sentences  shall  this  paragraph  be  developed  ? " 
is  a  question,  not  merely  of  the  extent,  but 
also  of  the  manner  of  development.  Com- 
pare the  two  following  paragraphs  : 

For  my  religion,  though  there  be  several 
circumstances  that  might  persuade  the  world  I 
have  none  at  all,  as  the  general  scandal  of  my 
profession,  the  natural  course  of  my  studies, 
5  the  indifferency  of  my  behaviour  and  discourse 
in  matters  of  religion, — neither  violently  de- 
fending one,  nor  with  that  common  ardour 
and  contention  opposing  another — yet  in  de- 
spite hereof,  I  dare,  without  usurpation,  as- 
10  sume  the  honourable  style  of  a  Christian. 
Not  that  I  merely  owe  this  title  to  the  font, 
my  education,  or  the  clime  wherein  I  was  born, 
as  being  bred  up  either  to  confirm  those  princi- 


Nu77iber  of  Se?ite?ices  23 

pies  my  parents  instilled  into  my  unwary  un- 
derstanding, or  by  a  general  consent  proceed  15 
in  the  religion  of  my  country  :    but  having  in 
my  riper  years  and  confirmed  judgment  seen 
and  examined  all,  I  find  myself  obliged,  by  the 
principles  of  grace,  and  the  law  of  mine  own 
reason,  to  embrace  no  other  name  but  this.  20 
Neither  doth  herein  my  zeal  so  far  make  me 
forget  the  general  charity  I  owe  unto  human- 
ity, as   rather  to  hate   than   pity   Turks,  infi- 
dels, and  (what  is  worse)  Jews  ;   rather  con- 
tenting myself  to  enjoy  that  happy  style,  than  25 
maligning  those  who  refuse  so  glorious  a  title. 
Sir  Thomas  Browne :  Religio  Medici. 

What  is  the  hardest  task  in  the  world  ?  To 
think.  I  would  put  myself  in  the  attitud'e 
to  look  in  the  eye  an  abstract  truth,  and  I 
cannot.  I  blench  and  withdraw  on  this  side 
and  on  that.  I  seem  to  know  what  he  meant  5 
who  said,  No  man  can  see  God  face  to  face  and 
live.  For  example,  a  man  explores  the  basis 
of  civil  government.  Let  him  intend  his  mind 
without  respite,  without  rest,  in  one  direction. 
His  best  heed  long  time  avails  him  nothing.  10 
Yet  thoughts  are  flitting  before  him.  We  all  but 
apprehend,  we  dimly  forebode  the  truth.  We 
say,  I  will  walk  abroad,  and  the  truth  will  take 


24  The  Paragraph  in  its  Sentences: 

form  and  clearness  to  me.  We  go  forth,  but 
15  cannot  find  it.  It  seems  as  if  we  needed  only 
the  stillness  and  composed  attitude  of  the 
library  to  seize  the  thought.  But  we  come  in, 
and  are  as  far  from  it  as  at  first.  Then,  in  a 
moment,  and  unannounced,  the  truth  appears. 
20  A  certain  wandering  light  appears,  and  is 
the  distinction,  the  principle,  we  wanted.  But 
the  oracle  comes  because  we  had  previously 
laid  siege  to  the  shrine.  It  seems  as  if  the  law 
of  the  intellect  resembled  that  law  of  nature 

25  by  which  we  now  inspire,  n^w  expire  the 
breath ;  by  which  the  heart  now  draws  in, 
then  hurls  out  the  blood, — the  law  of  undula- 
tion. So  you  must  labor  with  your  brains,  and 
now  you  must   forbear  your  activity  and  see 

30  what  the  great  Soul  showeth.  Emerson  :  In^ 
tellect.  * 

20.  Apparently  the  question  is  *'  Long  sen- 
tences or  short  ? "  And  the  answer  is  two- 
fold. First,  as  a  matter  of  logic,  a  given 
statement  is  left  as  an  independent  sentence  or 
is  combined  in  the  same  sentence  with  other 
statements  according   as   it   is   coordinate  or 

*  Quoted  in  Carpenter's  Exercises  in  Rhetoric  anR 
English  Composition  in  this  connection. 


Number  of  Sentences  25 

subordinate.  Logically,  then,  the  question 
becomes  :  "  Should  this  statement  receive  the 
prominence  of  a  separate  sentence,  or  should 
it  be  reduced  to  a  clause  or  a  phrase  ? "  ^ 
Here  also  is  involved  the  principle  of  empha- 
sis-. 

21.  In  the  second  place,  as  a  matter  of 
rhetoric,  the  succession  of  sentences  in  the 
first  paragraph  is  smooth,  in  the  second  para- 
graph abrupt.  And  the  difference,  though  it 
lies  partly  in  explicit  reference,  lies  mainly  in 
the  predominance  of  long  or  of  short  sen- 
tences. A  paragraph  of  long  sentences,  then, 
has  the  advantage  over  a  paragraph  of  short 
sentences  in  a  nicer  subordination  and  an 
easier  flow.  But  it  will  not  do  to  think  of 
a  paragraph  as  limited  to  one  or  the  other. 
Each  has  its  purpose^  and  both  are  necessary 
to  variety.  Moreover,  since  monotony  of 
style  means  monotony  in  sentence-forms,  va- 
riety in  length  is  an  end  in  itself. 

22.  Again,  it  is  evident  from  §§  12-15 
that   a   paragraph    is   a   group   of   sentences 

^  Practice  in  reduction  of  this  kind  is  a  direct  means 
of  overcoming  a  habit  of  redundancies. 


26        The  Paragraph  in  its  S^iitetues  : 

when  we  consider  its  coherence.  But  para- 
graph coherence  affects  even  the  form  of  the 
sentences,  by  what  has  been  called  '*  inver- 
sion for  adjustment."  A  striking  example  of 
this  is  the  following  oratorical  paragraph  : 

But  the  age  of  chivalry  is  gone.  That  of  soph- 
isters,  oeconomists,  and  calculators,  has  suc- 
ceeded ;  and  the  glory  of  Europe  is  extinguished 
for  ever.  Never,  never  more,  shall  we  behold 
that  generous  loyalty  to  rank  and  sex,  that  proud 
submission,  that  dignified  obedience,  that  sub- 
ordination of  the  heart,  which  kept  alive,  even  in 
servitude  itself,  the  spirit  of  an  exalted  freedom. 
The  unbought  grace  of  life,  the  cheap  defence  of 
nations,  the  nurse  of  manly  sentiment  and  heroic 
enterprise,  is  gone  !  It  is  gone,  that  sensibility 
of  principle,  that  chastity  of  honour,  which  felt  a 
stain  like  a  wound,  which  inspired  courage  whilst 
it  mitigated  ferocity,  which  ennobled  whatever  it 
touched,  and  under  which  vice  itself  lost  half  its 
evil,  by  losing  all  its  grossness. — Burke  :  Reflec- 
tions on  the  Revolution  in  France, 

It  should  be  added,  first,  that  such  inver- 
sions, besides  contributing  to  paragraph  co- 
herence, contribute  also,  like  the  exclamatory 


Form  of  Sentences  27 

and  interrogative  forms,  to  emphasis  and  va- 
riety ;  secondly,  that  inversion,  exclamation, 
interrogation,  all  three  must  be  regarded  as 
exceptional.  The  frequent  use  of  these  de- 
vices makes  style  laboured  and  pompous. 

The  length  of  a  sentence,  then,  and  its 
form  are  to  be  decided,  not  absolutely  for 
the  sentence  itself,  but  relatively  to  the  para- 
graph. 


28  The  Sentence:    Unity 


III.    The  Sentence. 

23.  In  English  every  statement  is  punctu- 
ated as  a  sentence  unless  it  be  definitely 
subordinated  to  some  other  statement  as  a 
dependent  clause,  or  coordinated  as  an  equal 
member.     It  is  a  common  error  to  write —    / 

The  tide  was  rising,  so  we  ran. 

Those  seven  words  make  two  sentences — 

The  tide  was  rising.     So  we  ran. 

For  the  two  statements  are  left  independent, 
side  by  side.  Not  punctuation,  but  only  a 
definite  subordination  will  make  them  one 
sentence — 

We  ran  because  the  tide  was  rising ; 

or,  better,. 

Since  the  tide  was  rising,  we  ran. 

It  is  a  grosser  error  to  punctuate  a  clause 
as  if  it  were  a  sentence.    Until  these  two  con- 


Punctuation  29 

verse  errors  are  eradicated,  nothing  further 
can  be  done.  No  one  can  revise  for  sentence 
unity  until  he  recognizes  the  unit. 

24.  Except  in  that  it  is  easier  to  unify  a 
short  sentence  than  a  long  one,  the  length  of 
a  sentence  has  nothing  to  do  with  its  unity. 
Above  are  seven  words  not  in  unity,  and  at 
lines  27-35  ^^  the  paragraph  at  §  12  are  seventy 
words  entirely  in  unity.  Besides,  the  length 
of  a  sentence  depends,  partly  upon  the  exi- 
gencies of  the  individual  thought,  partly  upon 
the  emphasis  of  the  whole  paragraph  (§  20). 
Length,  then,  is  not  the  test,  but  relevance, 
the  bearing  of  the  modifiers  on  the  main  part. 
In  the  following  sentence  the  modifiers  move 
steadily  away  from  the  main  part : 

In  this  uneasy  state  Cicero  was  oppressed  by  a 
new  and  cruel  affliction,  the  death  of  his  daughter 
Tullia,  which  happened  soon  after  her  divorce 
from  Dolabella,  whose  manners  and  humours 
were  entirely  disagreeable  to  her. 

The  remedy  here  is  simple.  Cast  out  the 
irrelevant  modifiers.  If  they  are  not  worthy 
the   dignity  of  separate   sentences,  suppress 


30  The  Sentence :    Unity 

them  altogether.     In  general,  beware  of  the- 
House-that-Jack-built  sentence. 

25.  But  the  trouble  is  deeper.  Wherein  lies 
the  absurdity  of  the  following  sentence  ? 

I  turned  to  reply,  when  the  platform  on  which 
I  was  standing  gave  way  with  a  crash. 

Here  the  writer  unintentionally  represents 
himself  as  unmoved  in  the  midst  of  disaster  : 

When  the  platform  on  which  I  was  standing 
gave  way  with  a  crash,  I  turned  to  reply. 

The  sentence  is  logically  upside  down,  the 
main  thought  being  expressed  as  subordinate, 
the  subordinate  thought  as  main.  This  cor- 
rected, the  sentence  is  at  once  logical. 

When  I  turned  to  reply,  the  platform  on  which 
I  was  standing  gave  way  with  a  crash. 

The  following  sentence  has  the  same  fault, 
but  the  remedy  is  to  cut  the  sentence  in  two  : 

Vasco  de  Gama  first  doubled  Cape  Colony,  and 
later,  in  1652,  the  Dutch  came  and  made  settle- 
ments there,  when  England,  always  anxious  for 
new  territory,  seized  all  South  Africa,  with  the 


Logical  Subordinatioji  31 

attending  results  of  six  wars  with  the  natives  and 
with  a  mixture  of  natives  and  Dutch  settlers. 


In  a  word,  a  complex  sentence  must  have 
only  one  main  part,  and  that  part  must  be  ex- 
pressed as  the  main  clause. 

26.  In  compound  sentences,  where  there  is 
no  one  main  part,  unity  demands  that  there 
shall  be  real  coordination,  that  the  mem- 
bers shall  be  co-equal  parts  of  one  main  idea. 
Unity  appears  in  the  balanced  sentences  at 
§  40.  Most  of  the  compound  sentences  that 
violate  unity,  except  such  as  make  merely 
irrelevant  additions  with  and^  do  so  because 
they  violate  coherence  (§  28). 

In  revising  sentences  for  unity,  then  : 

(i)  See  that  the  punctuation  tells  the  truth. 

(2)  See  that  the  main  thought  is  in  the 
main  clause,  not  in  some  modifier. 

(3)  See  that  the  modifiers  are  relevant. 

(4)  See  that  the  members  of  compound 
sentences  are  really  coordinate  parts  of  one 
idea. 

27.  Coherence  in  a  sentence  is  primarily 
correctness  in  syntax,  and,  as  such,  is  hardly 


32  The  Sentence:    Coherence 

matter  of  rhetoric.  Almost  all  solecisms  are 
but  forms  of  what  the  Greeks  called  anacolu- 
thon.  Thus  different  than  puts  a  conjunction 
after  a  word  logically  followed  by  a  preposi- 
tion ;  thus  the  so-called  hanging  participle  ^ 
is  a  construction  left  unfinished  ;  thus  and 
which '  tries  to  make  a  clause  at  once  coordi- 
nate and  subordinate  ;  and  so  of  faults  in 
correlation '  and  in  the  sequence  of  tenses.* 
28.  But  coherence   in   a  sentence   is   also 

^  "  Coming  nearer,  the  shores  were  seen  to  be 
wooded." 

^  The  combination  a7id  which  is  correct  only  when 
t£///zV/z-clauses  are  coordinated,  as  in  the  last  sentence 
of  the  paragraph  quoted  at  §  22. 

*  The  rule  for  correlatives  {eitJur-or,  neither-nor, 
rather  than ^ par tly-partly ^  etc.,  etc.)  is  that  they  should 
stand  in  positions  absolutely  corresponding,  each  to 
each  (compare  §  32,  b,  c).  The  error  is  the  slipshod 
*'  Neither  by  sea  nor  land." 

*  e.g.,  "  He  intended  to  have  gone,"  for  "  He  in- 
tended to  go."  Professor  Genung  states  the  rule  thus  : 
"In  dependent  clauses  and  infirfitives  the  tense  is  to 
be  counted  relatively  to  the  principal  assertion,  not 
absolutely  in  itself." — Practical  Elements  of  Rhetoric, 
page  112. 


Grammar  and  Logic  33 

matter  of  logic.  The  legend  in  open  electric 
cars — 

Avoid  danger.     Keep  your  seats  till  the  car  stops, 

or 

Avoid  danger  and  keep  your  seats,  etc., 

is  illogical.  The  error  of  the  former  will 
appear  on  reference  to  §  20,  Substantially 
the  same  is  the  error  of  the  latter.  The  writer 
has  made  two  requests  where  he  meant  to 
make  one.  He  has  written  as  coordinate 
a  clause  that  is  clearly  subordinate.  He 
means — 

To  avoid  danger,  keep  your  seats,  etc. 

The  connecting  thus  by  the  coordinating  con- 
junction and  or  but  of  two  statements  that  are 
not  coordinate  is  one  of  the  commonest,  as  it 
is  one  of  the  gravest,  phases  of  incoherence. 
The  remedy  is  to  be  found  not  so  much  in  the 
avoidance  of  and  and  but  as  in  educating  one- 
self to  distinguish  readily  what  is  subordinate 
from  what  is  coordinate.  In  brief,  avoid 
illogical  compound  sentences. 
3 


34  The  Sentence :   Cohere^ice 

29.  Thus  unity  and  coherence  unite  in  de- 
manding that  the  sentence  adhere  throughout 
to  one  plan.  But,  furthermore,  that  plan  must 
at  every  point  be  clear.  Failure  in  this  may 
almost  always  be  traced  to  one  of  three  kinds 
of  error  :  (a)  undue  ellipsis,  (b)  faulty  refer- 
ence, (c)  faulty  placing  of  modifiers. 

(a)  undue  ellipsis. 

Cardinal  Richelieu  hated  Buckingham  as  sin- 
cerely as  the  Spaniard  Olivares  (eUipsis  of  the 
verb). 

Daudet  is  nearer  Trollope  than  Dickens  (ellipsis 
of  the  preposition). 

Even  to-day  many  people  are  found  who  could 
not  be  induced  to  sit  down  in  a  party  of  thirteen 
at  table,  in  the  dread  that  one  of  the  number  would 
die  within  a  short  time,  or  would  surely  faint  if  a 
white  cat  were  to  enter  the  house  (ellipsis  of  the 
relative). 

(b)  faulty  reference. 

If  a  man  has  done  an  Indian  a  wrong  his  only 
safety  lies  in  killing  him  (ambiguity  of  personal 
pronouns). 

So  on  the  third  day  he  rode  over  a  long  bridge, 


Clearness  35 

and  there  started  upon  him  a  passing  foul  churl, 
and  he  smote  his  horse  on  the  nose  so  that  he 
turned  about  and  asked  him  why  he  rode  over 
that  bridge  without  his  license  [ambiguity  of  per- 
sonal pronouns.     Compare  (c)]. 

,  Black  Death  was  the  name  given  to  an  Oriental 
plague  marked  by  inflammatory  boils  which  in 
the  fourteenth  century  desolated  the  world  [am- 
biguity of  the  relative  pronoun.     Compare  (c)  ]. 

(c)  faulty  placing  of  modifiers. 

They  are  separated  from  the  class  to  which 
they  belonged  m  consequeiice  of  their  crunes. 

Though  we  are  all  by  no  means  connoisseurs, 
yet  we  all  go  to  exhibitions,  not  because  it  is  the 
fashion,  but  because  we  think  it  elevates  our  minds. 

In  this  chapter  is  seen  the  master  of  Thornfield 
led  about  like  a  child  crushed  in  attempting  to 
save  his  wife  who  perished  in  the  flames  she  had 
created. 

30.  Blunders  of  these  types  have  given  rise 
to  the  following  cautions  : 

(i)  A  given  pronoun  must  refer  throughout 
a  given  sentence  exclusively  and  unmistakably 
to  one  antecedent. 


36  The  Sentence  :   Coherence 

(2)  The  position  of  any  modifier  should  be 
next  to  the  word  it  modifies,  or  as  near  as 
possible.  Negatives  and  the  words  only^ 
merely,  hardly,  etc.,  demand  especial  attention. 

(3)  Non-restrictive  ("  coordinate  ")  relative 
clauses  are  always  set  off  by  commas,  restric- 
tive clauses  never.' 

31.  The  unity  and  coherence  of  a  sentence 
being  properly  matters  of  grammar,  under 
emphasis  is  included  all  that  may  strictly  be 
called  the  rhetoric  of  the  sentence,  the  rules, 
that  is,  of  effective  form.  For  most  effective 
sentence-forms  are  applications  of  the  rule 
(§§  5"6)  concerning  prominence  of  position. 
Of  all  such  forms  two  stand  as  types,  the 
period  and  the  climax,  A  third,  the  balance, 
though  not  logically  distinct  from  the  two 
former,  is  so  marked  as  to  deserve  separate 
treatment.     None  of  these  terms,  in  fact,  is 

^  It  is  a  practice  with  some  careful  writers  to  accen- 
tuate this  distinction  by  confining  who  and  which,  so 
far  as  is  possible,  to  non-restrictive  clauses;  i.e., 'by 
using  that  always  for  restrictive  clauses.  Though 
this  practice  may  not  be  insisted  on,  it  is  undoubtedly 
useful. 


Emphasis  37 

exclusive  of  the  others;   but   each  marks  a 
model  of  construction. 

32.  The  periodic  sentence^  or  period^  keeps 
its  construction  incomplete  up  to  the  end.  It 
closes  grammatically  with  the  last  word,  not 
before.  All  sentences  that  are  not  periodic 
are  technically  called  loose.  In  general,  that 
suspension  of  the  sense  which  is  characteristic 
of  the  period  is  accomplished  (a)  by  putting 
all  the  modifiers  before  the  main  part,  or  (b) 
by  the  use  of  correlatives  and  other  words  of 
suspense,  or  (c)  by  a  combination  of  these 
methods. 

(a) 

Apart  from  such  an  assertion,  or  such  a  result, 
I  myself  am  little  aware  of  the  pace. — De  Quincey: 
The  English  Mail- Coach. 

Such  now  being  at  that  time  the  usages  of  mail- 
coaches,  what  was  to  be  done  by  us  of  young 
Oxford  ? — ibid. 

Many  a  stern  republican,  after  gorging  himself 
with  a  full  feast  of  admiration  of  tlfe  Grecian  com- 
monwealths and  of  our  true  Saxon  constitution, 
and  discharging  all  the  splendid  bile  of  his  vir- 
tuous indignation  on  King  John  and  King  James, 


38  The  Sentence :  Emphasis 

sits  down  perfectly  satisfied  to  the  coarsest  work 
and  homeliest  job  of  the  day  he  lives  in. — Burke  : 
Thoughts  on  the  Present  Discontents. 

An  influence  which  operated  without  noise  and 
without  violence  ;  an  influence  which  converted 
the  very  antagonist  into  the  instrument  of  power; 
which  contained  in  itself  a  perpetual  principle  of 
growth  and  renovation  ;  and  which  the  distresses 
and  the  prosperity  of  the  country  equally  tended 
to  augment,  was  an  admirable  substitute  for  a 
prerogative  that,  being  only  the  offspring  of  anti- 
quated prejudices,  had  moulded  in  its  original 
stamina  irresistible  principles  of  decay  and  disso- 
lution.— ibid. 

Compare  the  first  sentence  in  the  paragraph 
quoted  at  §  19. 

(b),  (c) 

This  doctrine,  as  applied  to  the  prince  now  on 
the  British  throne,  either  is  nonsense,  and  there- 
fore neither  true  nor  false,  or  it  affirms  a  most 
unfounded,  dangerous,  illegal,  and  unconstitu- 
tional position. — Burke  :  Reflections  on  the  Rev- 
olution in  France, 

Yet  have  I  not  so  shaken  hands  with  those  des- 
perate  resolutions   who    had    rather   venture  at 


The  Period  39 

large  their  decayed  bottom,  than  bring  her  in  to 
be  new  trimmed  at  the  doci<,  who  had  rather 
promiscuously  retain  all,  than  abridge  any,  and 
obstinately  be  what  they  are,  than  what  they  have 
been,  as  to  stand  in  diameter  and  swords'  point 
with  them. — Sir  Thomas  Browne:  Religio  Me- 
dici. 

The  little  cany  carriage— /^r/Zy,  perhaps,  from 
the  violent  torsion  of  the  wheels  in  its  recent 
movement,  partly  from  the  the  thundering  blow 
we  had  given  to  it — as  if  it  sympathized  with  hu- 
man horror,  was  all  alive  with  tremblings  and 
shiverings. — De  Quincey :  The  Eiiglish  Mail- 
Coach. 

Some  twenty  or  more  years  before  I  matricu- 
lated at  Oxford,  Mr.  Palmer,  at  that  time  M.P. 
for  Bath,  had  accomplished  two  things,  very  hard 
to  do  on  our  little  planet  the  Earth,  however  cheap 
they  may  be  held  by  eccentric  people  in  comets — 
he  had  invented  mail-coaches,  and  he  had  married 
the  daughter  of  a  duke. — ibid. 

Among  them,  indeed,  I  saw  some  of  known 
rank,  some  of  shining  talents  ;  but  of  any  practical 
experience  in  the  state,  not  one  man  was  to  be 
found. — Burke :  Refiectioiis  on  the  Revolution  iti 
France. 


40  The  Sentence:   Emphasis 

33.  The  main  characteristics  of  this  peri- 
odic form  are  four : 

(1)  It  is  more  formal  than  the  loose  sen- 
tence. 

(2)  It  tends  toward  unity,  the  suspense 
tending  to  force  out  irrelevant  modifiers. 

{3)  It  tends  toward  coherence. 

(4)  It  is  decidedly  emphatic,  both  because 
the  main  part  comes  at  the  close  and  because 
the  suspense  stimulates  the  mind  to  receive 
the  close  with  attention.  Naturally,  there- 
fore, it  has  been  a  favourite  form  with  all 
great  orators.  Moreover,  Herbert  Spencer^ 
explicitly  maintains  that  by  presenting  the 
whole  idea  at  once  to  the  mind,  instead  of 
building  it  up  bit  by  bit  as  the  loose  sentence 
does,  the  period  secures  the  greatest  economy 
of  attention. 

34.  In  all  these  respects,  except  the  single 
one  of  formality,  the  loose  sentence  seems  in- 
ferior. But  formality  is  hardly  to  be  sought, 
and  most  certainly  to  be  sought  is  variety 
(§  21).  Therefore  no  one  is  free  to  use  the- 
period   exclusively,  even    if   he   would.     Be- 

^  Philosophy  of  Style,  pages  20-22  (American  edition). 


The  Loo  Si  Sentence  41 

sides,  the  term  loose  sentence^  being  so  much 
more  inclusive  than  the  term  period^  being  in 
fact  only  a  negative,  needs  further  elucida- 
tion. 

We  frequently  hear  the  habit  of  reading  lauded 
highly  and  the  acquiring  of  it  recommended,  to 
the  young  in  particular,  usually  in  very  general 
terms,  as  if  its  advantages  were  truths  so  self-evi- 
dent that  no  one  would  think  of  denying  them, 
very  much  indeed  as  we  hear  religion  praised,  or 
industry,  no  matter  to  what  applied,  or  any  other 
of  what  are  considered  the  safeguards  of  society. 

The  weakness  of  this  loose  sentence  lies  in 
the  fact  that  it  sounds,  in  great  part,  like  a 
succession  of  after-thoughts.  Instead  of  re- 
ceiving a  definitely  formulated  idea,  the  reader 
feels  as  if  he  were  called  on  to  assist  at  the 
process  of  formulation.  The  successive  modi- 
fiers call  for  successive  revisions  of  the  origi- 
nal statement.  Few  styles  are  more  tiresome 
or  more  irritating  than  one  in  which  such 
sentences  are  habitual. 

He  sent  a  life  of  Milton  to  the  Edinburgh  Re- 
view,   and   contributed   several    articles   to   that 


42  The  Sentence  :  Emphasis 

magazine  up  to  the  time  he  entered  Parliament, 
where  he  made  himself  immediately  famous  as  an 
orator. 

This  loose  sentence  violates  emphasis  by 
violating  unity. 

In  western  cities  the  theatres  are  open  on  Sun- 
day, but  in  New  York  Sunday  entertainments  of 
that  class  are  confined  principally  to  so-called 
sacred  concerts,  although  it  is  doubtful  what  se- 
lections that  are  played  could  be  rightly  termed 
sacred  music. 

Here  the  writer  evidently  has  not  even  de- 
cided which  is  his  main  idea. 

35.  All  three  loose  sentences  above  violate 
the  principle  of  emphasis  ;  all  are  typical  of 
the  danger  of  the  loose  sentence,  the  danger 
of  mere  aggregation.  But  in  the  following 
loose  sentence  the  principle  of  emphasis  is 
just  as  evidently  observed  as  in  the  period  : 

In  such  a  people  the  haughtiness  of  domination 
combines  with  the  spirit  of  freedom,  fortifies  it, 
and  renders  it  invincible. — Burke:  On  Concilia-- 
Hon  with  America. 


Climax  43 

Equally  emphatic  are  the  loose  sentences 
in  the  paragraph  quoted  from  the  same  author 
at  §  22.  Sentences  in  which,  as  in  these,  the 
parts  succeed  in  ascending  scale  are  said  to 
have  climax. 

36.  Climax,  moreover,  does  not  mean  merely 
that  the  succeeding  clauses  have  stronger  and 
stronger  words.  The  climax  in  the  following 
is  gained  by  such  successive  expansions  of 
the  thought  as  make  it  grow  in  significance 
while  one  reads  : 

Such  preeminently  is  Shakespeare  among  our- 
selves ;  such  preeminently  Virgil  among  the 
Latins  ;  such  in  their  degree  are  all  those  writers 
who  in  every  nation  go  by  the  name  of  Classics. — 
Newman :  Literature, 


A  sentence  has  climax  when  there  is  a  logi- 
cal advance  from  clause  to  clause  up  to  the 
point  of  the  sentence.  Both  the  following 
sentences  exemplify  this,  and  at  the  same 
time,  by  the  way  in  which  the  first  leads  up 
to  the  second,  show  how  sentence  emphasis 
is  involved  in  paragraph  coherence  (§  22). 


44  The  Sentence  :  Emphasis 

And  what  that  energy,  which  is  the  life  of 
genius,  above  everything  demands  and  insists 
upon,  is  freedom ;  entire  independence  of  all 
authority,  prescription,  and  routine, — the  fullest 
room  to  expand  as  it  will.  Therefore,  a  nation 
whose  chief  spiritual  characteristic  is  energy, 
will  not  be  very  apt  to  set  up,  in  intellectual  mat- 
ters, a  fixed  standard,  an  authority,  like  an  acad- 
emy.— Matthew  Arnold:  The  Literary  Influ- 
ence of  Academies, 

37.  "  Period  or  loose  sentence  ? "  then,  in 
so  far  as  the  question  concerns  the  single 
sentence,  not  the  whole  paragraph,  should  be 
answered  with  an  eye  to  certain  maxims  : 

(i)  Either  form  may  be  good  or  bad. 

(2)  The  period  is  more  stimulating  to  close- 
ness of  thought,  in  the  reader  and  in  the  writer. 

(3)  A  short  period  is  more  commonly  use- 
ful than  a  long  one.  The  short  period,  in 
fact,  might  be  called  the  most  useful  of  sen- 
tence-forms. 

(4)  The  loose  sentence  has  often  a  more 
direct,  a  more  conversational  effect. 

(5)  The  loose  sentence  is  emphatic  in  pro- 
portion as  it  has  climax. 


Inversion  45 

38.  So  far  only  one  position  of  emphasis 
has  been  considered,  the  end.  The  beginning 
is  also  emphatic,  but  not  in  the  same  degree 
as  the  beginning  of  a  paragraph.  For  the 
fact  that  most  English  sentences,  on  account 
of  the  lack  of  inflections  in  English  and  the 
consequent  dependence  of  clearness  upon  the 
order  of  words  (§  29,  c),  begin  with  the  sub- 
ject, detracts  somewhat  from  the  emphasis  of 
the  subject  in  this  position.  Conversely,  some 
other  part  of  the  sentence,  not  so  naturally 
expected  in  that  position,  receives  emphasis 
at  the  beginning  : 

At  Sens,  thirty  miles  away  to  the  west,  a  place 
of  far  graver  aspect,  the  name  of  Jean  Cousin 
denotes  a  more  chastened  temper,  even  in  these 
sumptuous  decorations. — Pater  :  Imagi7iary  Por- 
traits. 

39.  Observe  also  that  additional  emphasis 
is  thrown  upon  the  opening  phrase  of  the 
sentence  above  by  the  break  that  follows. 
Even  the  subject  may  be  emphasized  in  this 
position  by  a  following  parenthesis  : 

The  Cecils,  we  suspect,  did  their  best  to  spread 


46  The  Sentence  :  Emphasis 

this  opinion  by  whispers  and  insinuations. — Ma- 
caulay  :  Francis  Bacon, 

Strangers,  meanwhile,  were  less  unjust  to  the 
young  barrister  than  his  nearest  kinsman  had 
been. — ibid. 

It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that 
the  beginning  of  any  sentence,  more  than  any 
other  part  of  it,  is  subject  to  the  paragraph. 

40.  The  term  balance^  as  applied  to  sen- 
tences, is  self-defining  (compare  §  18).  Bal- 
ance to  a  certain  extent  is  required  of  all 
sentences  (§  27).  In  all  ordinary  colloca- 
tions symmetry  has  been  made  a  part  of  cor- 
rectness. Lapses  in  this  jar  upon  the  ear. 
And  such  sentences  as  the  following,  though 
they  cannot  be  called  incorrect,  have  the 
same  effect  of  discord  : 

The  Roman  Catholic  goes  to  mass  and  devotes 
the  rest  of  the  day  to  pleasure,  while  the  Protest- 
ant goes  to  church  and  rests  the  remainder  of  the 
day. 

One  feels  that  the  two  contrasted  state- 
ments should  be  alike  in  form,  that  in  form 


Balance  f        47 

as  in  substance  they  should  be  halves  of  one 
whole.  Developed  more  highly,  this  desire 
for  balance  has  led  to  many  memorable  sen- 
tences : 

When  his  imagination  wells  up,  it  overflows  in 
ornament  ;  when  his  heart  is  touched,  it  thrills 
along  his  verse. — Newman  :  Literature, 

The  power  of  French  literature  is  in  its  prose 
writers  ;  the  power  of  English  literature  is  in  its 
poets. — Maithetv  Arnold:  The  Literary  Influ- 
ence of  Academies. 

41.  Here  the  sentence  is  cast  in  halves. 
This,  technically  speaking,  is  the  balanced 
sentence,  as  distinguished  from  such  sen- 
tences as  contain  balance  incidentally. 
Where  the  effect  of  correspondence  is  height- 
ened by  repetition,  the  balance  approaches 
epigram  : 

The  party  whose  principles  afforded  him  no 
guarantee  would  be  attached  to  him  by  interest  : 
the  party  whose  interests  he  attacked  would  be 
restrained  from  insurrection  by  principle. — Ma- 
caulay  :  History  of  England, 


4^  The  Sentence  :  Emphasis 

To  make  us  love  our  country,  our  country- 
ought  to  be  lovely. — Burke  :  Reflections  on  the 
Revolution  in  France. 

It  was  dangerous  to  trust  the  sincerity  of  Au- 
gustus :  to  seem  to  distrust  it  was  still  more  dan- 
gerous.— Gibbon:  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Ro- 
man Empire, 

42.  The  last  example  has  the  inverted  bal- 
ance called  by  the  Greeks  chiasmus.  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  point  out  that  the  Eng- 
lish sentence  is  not  flexible  to  such  forms. 
Even  simple  balance  easily  conveys  in  Eng- 
lish an  impression  of  artificiality  hardly  felt 
in  the  more  flexible  Greek  and  Latin.  For 
this  reason,  and  on  account  of  the  obvious 
monotony  of  a  series  of  balanced  sentences, 
the  form  has  in  English  a  limited  use.  But, 
though  limited,  its  use  is  very  distinct  and 
very  great.  Pithy  summaries,  especially  such 
as  approach  epigram,  are  much  heightened 
by  the  balance  ;  and,  in  general,  it  is  an 
admirable  mould  for  emphatic  compound 
sentences. 


INDEX  TO  THE  SECTIONS 

Anacoluthon,  27. 

asyndeton,  14,  15. 

Balance,  in  the  paragraph,  18. 

in  the  sentence,  26,  40-42. 
Chiasmus,  42. 
climax,  5,  16,  18,  34-37. 
coherence,  in  general,  4. 

in  the  paragraph,  12-15,  2^2, 

in  the  sentence,  27-30. 
correlation,  27,  32  b,  40. 
Development  of  a  theme,  g. 
Ellipsis,  undue,  29. 
emphasis,  in  general,  5-7. 

in  the  paragraph,  16-18,  20« 

in  the  sentence,  31-42. 

after  parenthesis,  39. 
explicit  reference,  12,  13,  21. 
Genung,  Professor^  quoted,  11,  27. 
Indentation  to  mark  a  paragraph,  8. 
inversion,  22,  38. 

Long  sentences  or  short,  19-21,  24. 
loose  sentences,  34-37. 
Modifiers,  placing  of,  29,  30, 
4 


50  Index  to  the  Sections 

Paragraph  defined,  8,  19. 

indentation,  8. 

first  sentence  of,  8,  10. 

unity,  10,  II. 

last  sentence  of,  10,  16,  17. 

suibject  of,  10. 

coherence,  12-15,  '^- 

parallel  construction,  i^. 

emphasis,  16-18,  20. 

number  of  sentences,  19^21. 
period,  or  periodic  sentence,  32,  33,  37, 
pronouns,  reference  of ,  29,  30. 
proportion,  7,  17,  40  (see  emphasis). 
Redundancy,  practice  to  avoid,  20. 
Sentences,  longf  or  short,  19-21,  24. 

unity,  23-26,  33,  34. 

eoordinatioo  and  subordination,  23, 25, 26, 28. 

coherence,  27-30,  33, 

solecisms,  27. 

clearness,  29^  3a 

emphasis,  31-42. 

periodic,  32,  33,  37. 

k)ose,  34-37- 

elimax,  35-37. 

balanced,  40-42:. 

ehiasmus,  42. 
sotecisms,  27. 

Spencer^  He^'bert^  cited,  33. 
Theme,  statement  of  the,  3,  6, 


Index  to  the  Sections  51 


Theme,  development  of  the,  9,  11. 
Unity,  in  general,  1-3. 

test  of,  3. 

in  the  paragraph,  10,  11. 

in  the  sentence,  23-26. 
Variety,  in  sentence-forms,  21,  22. 
Wendell^  Professor,  quoted,  17. 


INDEX   TO   THE   EXTRACTS 

(Note.  Punctuation  and  capitals  have  in  some  cases 
been  modified  in  the  direction  of  uniformity^ 

Arnold^  Matthew^  Essays  in  Criticism,  First  Series, 
pages  51,  53 §§  36,  40. 

Bacon,  the  Essays  on  Adversity  and  on  Ceremonies  and 
Respects §§  2^  16. 

Browne,  Sir  Thomas,  the  Religio  Medici,  GreenHill's 
edition,  pag*  7,  8         .         .         •     §§  ^9^  32  b,  c. 

Burke,  Works,  9  volumes,  Boston,  1839.  On  Con- 
ciliation with  America  ;  volume  ii.,  pages  32,  36, 

§§  12,  35. 
On  the  Middlesex  Election  ;  volume  v.,  page  382, 

§  18. 

Reflections  on  the  Revolution  in  France  ;  volume 
iii.,  pages  32,  60,  98,  100  .  §§  22,  32  b,  c,  41. 
Thoughts  on  the  Present  Discontents  ;  volume  i., 

pages  355,  357 §  32  a. 

De  Quincey,  The  English  Mail-Coach  and  the  Vision 
of  Sudden  Death,  Miscellaneous  Essays,  American 
{1851)  collective  edition;  volume  iii.,  pages  127, 
131,  142,  143,  190  (the  passage  at  §  13  is  from  the 
English  edition)  .         .     §§  13,  15,  32  a,  b,  c. 


Index  to  the  Extracts  53 

Emerson^  Essays,  First  Series,  Riverside  collective 
edition  ;  volume  ii.,  page  308      .         .         .     §  19. 

Gibbon^  The  History  of  the  Decline  and  Fall  of  the 
Roman  Empire,  12  volumes,  London,  1806;  vol- 
ume i.,  page  98  §41. 

Macaulay,  Francis  Bacon §  39* 

History  of  England §  4i« 

Newman,  John  Henry,  Cardinal,  The  Idea  of  a  Uni- 
versity, pages  292,  293         .         .         •     §§  3^1  40* 

Pater,  Imaginary  Portraits,  page  54  •         •    §  38. 


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